Just got my 2005 X3 3.0L. Auto Air/Heat control
It's winter here in Connecticut, and very cold lately. When the vehicle is warming up, no air flows from the dash vents. When the engine temp is almost to operating state, the fan speed increases, and then cold (like outside cold) begins to flow out of the dash vents . Even when the car warms up (if it can with the cold air coming in from dash vents), the dash vents continue to put out cold (as if from the outside) air. Setting the air temp to 91 degrees only stops the air flow for awhile, then cold air resumes.
Anybody experience this?? I can turn off the vents, but then why did I get AUTO Air.Heat option?
Thanks.

sppuddsy

12-21-2004, 11:22 AM

There should be a dial on the vent with blue and red - turn it to red to get heat.....

FirstBMW

12-21-2004, 01:40 PM

Had the same problem - but this am I moved the dial to the red side and it helped.

gojira-san

12-21-2004, 01:49 PM

My 3er and 5er work the same way - the center wheel in the dash vent controls the heating. Roll up towards red for more heat down into the blue for less heat. The white bar is the "center" of the control. It's a little confusing at first since you expect the heat in AUTO to be all automatic. Now, I like the convenience of it - I can have a little more heat to the car, etc but have some cooler air blowing at face level on long drives for example.

Mtnbiker

12-22-2004, 03:21 AM

Thanks for the previous replys.
However, I have tried moving the temperture wheel to the hot side (3 red dots), and it makes little difference. The air coming in is COLD, almost as cold as the 25 degree outside air. This will last for up to 20 to 25 minutes of driving. When the Auto fan speed is reduced as a result of the car finally thinking it has warmed the interior, then the air speed slows coming from the dash vent and the air begins to have a bit more warmth to it.
Selecting recirculating air button does not stop the cold air... :yikes:
I have a 01 530i and nothing like this happens.
Guess this one may be for the dealer.

gojira-san

12-22-2004, 05:08 AM

I have a 01 530i and nothing like this happens.
Guess this one may be for the dealer.Yeah it should work just like your 5er (sorry for thinking you were a noob :D ) Yep, a trip to the dealer sounds in order - something in the linkage for the vent heat must not be operating... best to find it now before we're really in the depths of winter though!

dherzfeld

12-22-2004, 11:49 AM

Bad cabin air temperature sensor? Dealer is the likely answer.

jvr826

12-22-2004, 12:11 PM

Bad cabin air temperature sensor? Dealer is the likely answer.

this is a good point. On the 5'er the sensor is right behind where a coffee cup would sit if you are using the cup holder in the center console. The heat from the coffee would trick the sensor into thinking it is warmer inside than it actually is. Not sure about the X3, but ya never know.

Notice anything strange about the engine temp indicator on your dash? if it's squirly or not reading what you think it should be, i.e. it's showing the engine is colder than normal operating temp, then the thermostat could be shot. the other systems rely on this, at least in the 5'er. I had mine go on me and I couldn't get any heat out of her either.

Mtnbiker

12-25-2004, 05:00 PM

Well, Went to the dealer with my tale of woe.
They said it should not be happening, but did do two things that seem to have greatly reduced the problom:
1st, the base air flow or speed when the system is in AUTO mode (no fan speed override) was set to low. Seems that the base speed can be low-medium-high. They did not say was it was set to originally, but I feel it was on high.
2nd, they reloaded some software that controlled the AUTO operation.
Viola, it works fine. :p
The fan speed bar indicator show about 50% speed, but the air flow is very low and you barely can hear it.
Thanks for listening and posting replys. Maybe if you think your fan / air flow is not what you like, this posting will help. :angel:

the worm

12-28-2004, 08:56 AM

I have noticed that when I hit the Auto button that my A/C button always comes on. I have an 01 330 and this never happens but always seems to happen on the X3. Anyone else see this behavior?

stevenw66

12-28-2004, 02:38 PM

A/C is used to control the humidity in the vehicle. My corvette does the same thing.

the worm

12-28-2004, 03:17 PM

A/C is used to control the humidity in the vehicle. My corvette does the same thing.
I wish you could turn off that "feature" because the 01 330 doesn't do that but I guess that is an improvement??

FireFly

12-28-2004, 03:26 PM

I have noticed that when I hit the Auto button that my A/C button always comes on. I have an 01 330 and this never happens but always seems to happen on the X3. Anyone else see this behavior?

It can be programmed to not turn on when you turn the heat on and it relates to your key/memory settings.

chiror0b

01-31-2007, 09:17 PM

Old thread, but mine does the same thing. I just got the car tonight, but the air coming out the face vents is cool/lukewarm at best. The foot and windshield will blow hot, temp is set to 90/90 and the air blows, just not hot.

Other than an expensive dealer visit, does anyone know a way to fix it?

'97 528i

Mtnbiker

02-01-2007, 04:48 AM

It's been awhile. I did two things: one took X3 back to dealer and had them reset the fan system to factory specs. Seems with fan on low, in the coldest of winter days, the system did not put out enough heat to keep windshield from icing up. Second, in the winter, I drive around with the little heat-wheel atop the center dash vent on the 3-red-dot setting. Some cold air leaks out, but not enough to be a bother. Due to this setting, I redued the temperture setting from a usual 70 degrees to 65 degrees. This seems to counter balance the demand for heat in the dash vent.
In all honesty, the design sucks. I had a 01' 530i (wish the heck I still had it) and never had the stupid problems I have had with this X3 (it's an 05' model with an Oct 2004 production date).
So far, I had the mysterious window opening problems, the interior fan motor makes noises, the system computer lost it's memory, the AC system does not balance the air for crap, the radio has lots of static if something is plugged into the cargo area power plug, and it'll be very expensive to service when the 4 year service is up.
Oh well, that's just me..

dug01

02-01-2007, 07:36 AM

Thanks for the previous replys.
However, I have tried moving the temperture wheel to the hot side (3 red dots), and it makes little difference. The air coming in is COLD, almost as cold as the 25 degree outside air. This will last for up to 20 to 25 minutes of driving. When the Auto fan speed is reduced as a result of the car finally thinking it has warmed the interior, then the air speed slows coming from the dash vent and the air begins to have a bit more warmth to it.
Selecting recirculating air button does not stop the cold air... :yikes:
I have a 01 530i and nothing like this happens.
Guess this one may be for the dealer.

Was anything done to your car that required removal of the center vent outlets with the wheel--like a sat radio install or radio removal??--if this vent was removed to get inside the dash then the cable connecting the wheel to the heat control may have disconnected--I had the same problem when I picked up my car (dealer installed sat radio)--and someone on this forum suggested popping of the vent(grab the top with your fingers and pull--there was a cable with a ring on it that fell off the lever connected to the wheel--I reattached and now I can get full heat--or turn to cold. You can do it yourself or go to dealer with this info--it took me 2 minutes to fix.--let us know:thumbup:

new2bmw2

02-01-2007, 05:27 PM

Good advice from Dug01 - I had the exact same problem when I got mine in 2004. The problem with the heater was a simple fix; the cable on the rotary knob on the dash was not connected and therefore the mixing door to the heater was not moving and only cold air was coming out no matter what the temperature setting. Simple fix - pull of the vent and reattach cable - worked perfectly since. As I understand it when it works it should work like this - in the neutral position the air coming out should be same temperture as what is coming out of the footwell vents (auto control setting) , move the wheel towards the red or blue to bias the air coming either cooler or warmer in relation to the footwell vents. HTH.

chiror0b

02-01-2007, 05:51 PM

I went back and checked today, it was late, I was tired blah blah blah.

I didn't see the wheel. The front ones will blow hot. Heck it will blow hot if the wheel is set to hot even if I have the AC on and temp set to 65F.

The back seat blows cold, all the time, no temp changes help, just always cold. Is there another wheel or button hiding somewhere for that one?

Also, when I set it to "auto" it doesn't really seem to do anything. Maybe I'm just to impatient because after a little bit with no fan on and the windows starting to steam up I just turn on full fan and try to get things back into the comfortable range.